A Very Rosewick Christmas--Still Dreaming Christmas Special
by Peeves and Ronni
Summary: Roman and Ruby spend Christmas together in a rather unusual gift exchange. Rosewick twoshot, takes place in the Still Dreaming AU
1. Chapter 1

A Very Rosewick Christmas

That tree looked dangerous. At least, Roman thought so. It looked more like the result of a three year-old's arts and crafts project than it did a conifer, if you asked him. If it didn't topple over under the weight of the ornaments strewn across its fake branches, it might catch on fire from an electrical spark. One thing was for sure though. Roman would never, ever trust Ruby or any of her friends with interior design after seeing this abominable insult to fake foliage.

"D'you have some sort of fascination with Christmas trees?"

Roman glanced over at Ruby, who had only just stirred from bed and was looking at him with somewhat drowsy eyes. "Actually, I'm simply wondering which of you is responsible for this hideous brain child," he remarked as he gestured to the tree.

"Hey!"

"Oh…were you the mastermind behind this monstrosity? Seems my guess was right on the money." Ruby growled a little as he chuckled and knelt down to look at the space beneath the tree. "Where are all the presents?"

"They don't get put out until Christmas Eve!"

"Ah. So one more night then." Roman smirked and strolled over to Ruby's bed, lifting himself up onto the bedframe beneath it. He had since grown comfortable enough with their makeshift furnishings to justify leaning on her bed. "Did you get anything for me?"

"You still haven't told me where we're meeting."

"You know the way to my place."

"So Olive and I are just supposed to meet you there?"

"Precisely."

"Huh," Ruby leaned towards Roman and brushed her lips lightly against his. "Out of curiosity, have you decorated at all since the last time I saw your apartment?"

"Not even a little."

"We're going to have to fix that."

"I'm not stringing up little lights in my house just for two days of the year, especially when I'm this busy. I'm letting you come to the gift exchange, don't push it."

"It's not Christmas without a Christmas tree."

"Then I suppose you aren't celebrating Christmas either, because the glittery mess behind me is anything but a Christmas tree."

Ruby scowled and nudged Roman, making him stumble back off the bedframe as he laughed. "Don't make fun of my Christmas tree!" She slipped off the bed after him and aimed a few kicks at his shins, and he continued to snicker as she successfully backed him up against the bookshelf.

"Alright Red, it can pass for a Christmas tree," he smirked and pulled her close to him by the waist. "But you still aren't decorating my apartment."

"Yes I am."

"No you aren't."

"I will."

"You won't."

"Fine, I won't."

"There we go…"

"I'll have Olive do it instead. She'll be able to sneak out to your apartment tomorrow rather easily." A smirk played at Ruby's lips as she watched Roman's eyes narrow at that.

"I won't let her in."

"That'd be a bad idea."

"How so?"

"I didn't tell you what Olive does when you lock a door on her, did I?"

"No…should I be worried?"

"If the possibility of Olive loudly wailing 'I'm Henry the Eighth I Am' on your doorstep would draw to much attention to you then…yeah, I think it'd be alright to worry."

Roman groaned. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Roman sighed and held the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Of all the possible reactions to being locked out…fine, but you are not making my house throw up Christmas the same way your dorm did." he nodded to the heavily decorated room around him, as every surface had been lined with tinsel and holly of every imaginable shiny color. How any of them managed to sleep in a place as loud and clustered as this was a mystery to him.

"Well Yang and Weiss won't be helping us decorate so that won't be a problem." Ruby rested her chin on his chest and he glanced down at her. "Why are you such a Scrooge about Christmas anyhow?"

"I'm not really, I just got used to not celebrating it this much when I was little. Junior and I started exchanging gifts a few years back and that's the only holiday tradition I have. And as far as I'm concerned, it's enough."

Ruby puffed her cheeks out childishly. "But you keep trying to avoid decorating."

"Because it's a hassle."

"No, it's _fun_. And you didn't bake any cookies!"

"Because I can't bake."

"I could have helped you!"

"You were always busy when I was free, remember? Why are you so stuck on this?"

"Because I don't like having a Scrooge for a boyfriend."

Roman laughed and patted Ruby's head as she let out a slight childish whine. "If I were a Scrooge, I would be working on Christmas Day."

"You might as well be with you pitiful amount of Christmas cheer."

"Oy," Roman lifted her head away from his chest and pressed his forehead against hers, smirking all the while. "I'm letting you decorate, don't push your luck."

Red responded with a small peck on the lips and a grin. "Only telling the truth," she giggled as she pulled away.

"No, you're teasing."

"Even if I was, you do it to me all the time."

"No I don't."

"That is such a lie!"

"Alright, alright, I admit it," Roman gave Ruby another slow lingering kiss before pulling away slightly. "I make fun of you a lot."

"Meanie."

"It's your own fault, you make it so easy."

"I do not!"

"You do too."

Ruby puffed her cheeks out again and Roman chuckled.

"You really are too adorable sometimes Red."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

He smirked as Red pouted a little more before crushing her lips against his in a near aggressive fashion, her lips parted just enough to let his tongue through and her stifled moan barely audible enough to excite him. He pulled her closer; his hands traced her spine lightly before flattening firmly on the line and holding her up against him. Roman smiled a little as he felt Ruby trail her arms up his torso and over his shoulders. The kissing lasted a few moments longer, each one became a little more heated than the last until their lips came together for a lingering kiss. They broke apart slowly with somewhat goofy smiles and matching red-tinted cheeks, their breath still a little heavy as Roman pressed his forehead back against hers.

"You are getting remarkably good at silencing me," he murmured with a smirk.

"I've had a lot of practice by now," Red replied.

"This is true," Roman chuckled, "So I'll see you tomorrow evening and the night after?"

"Tomorrow if I can get there."

_"It's a date then."_

oooOOOooo

Ruby left the room a little early the next morning, mostly out of courtesy for her still comatose teammates but also because she and Olive's whereabouts the following evening were somewhat of a secret. Well, that was the nice way of saying that Ruby had lied again. So here she was, sitting comfortably outside her room at some odd hour of the morning, waiting for Olive to pick up her scroll.

"Come on Olive, wake up…"

_["Mnnm?"]_

"Olive! Hi, we need to talk."

_["…Ruby…? Whattimeizzsshhit…?"]_

"About quarter to five in the morning, look I need your help."

_["…can it wait…? M'sposed togetthere atten…"]_

"Roman's apartment isn't decorated for the holidays yet," Ruby explained quickly.

She paused a moment while the speaker on Olive's scroll muffled with the sound of moving sheets as the girl on the end of the line sprung awake.

_["Repeat that."]_

"Roman hasn't decorated his apartment at all."

Olive gasped loudly on the other end. _["Blasphemy!"]_

"Can you fix it?"

_["I may or may not be able to definitely solve this dilemma."]_

"I take it that's a yes."

_["I'll get go fetch the emergency tinsel! Is it alright if I don't pay you a visit at Beacon?"]_

"It's fine," Ruby chuckled, "So long as my boyfriend's apartment becomes all Christmas-ey."

_["What's the excuse for me crashing at Roman's again?"]_

"You're staying with your cousins in Vale."

_["…But I don't have any cousins in Vale."]_

"My team and the others don't know that."

_["Not even Yang?"]_

"Yang tries really hard to forget that you're friends with me whenever you aren't around."

_["Ouch. She still doesn't like me?"]_

"Normally I don't think it would matter to her much but I think she still hasn't forgiven you for your prank phase and that one incident involving her hair."

_["But that was an accident!"]_

"She was Signal's best joke for two weeks because of it."

_["I was eight!"]_

"Her first crush called her lame because of it."

_["Oh…uh…didn't I apologize…?"]_

"Yeah but I think she still wanted me to let her beat you up."

_["Oh. Well anyway, I have tinsel and ornaments to gather and you need to go back in and pretend we aren't visiting your secret boyfriend tomorrow."]_

"Heh. Thanks Olive. I'll try to stop by sometime this evening to see how everything's going."

_["Okay! See you!"]_

"Bye bye," Ruby smiled as her friend hung up and did a small stretch. She yawned and rose to enter her dorm room. It wouldn't hurt to get a little more sleep.

oooOOOooo

"For the last time, Olive, you have put up more than enough tinsel and you are not putting up any mistletoe," Roman rubbed his temples in an attempt to release his frustration without blowing a new hole into Olive, whose aggravating persistence had fit his apartment with lights, stockings and a kitchen buried in cookies for Santa.

"Mistletoe is a Christmas must-have, Roman!" Olive stomped her foot childishly and Roman let out a long sigh.

"I would not mind the addition of mistletoe all over my house if not for the fact that of the four of you that will be here for the gift exchange, there are three of you that I never ever want to kiss while I'm still living."

"Tongue is optional, you know."

"Whether or not tongue is optional is irrelevant, I refuse to allow any object that might force me to kiss you, Neo, or Junior, actually, especially Junior," Roman re-opened the book on his lap and glared up at Olive one last time. "I said no, I meant it."

She whined childishly, and shuffled into the adjacent room. "You really are a Scrooge."

"If banning mistletoe is what it takes, so be it."

Olive let out another whine just as someone knocked on the door.

"Do you think you could make yourself useful, and get that, Olive?"

"Fine…"

Roman smiled and read a few more sentences of his book as Olive shuffled over to the door and opened it. Sadly he was ill-prepared for the ungodly commotion that followed.

"NEO!" a loud thwack resonated through the apartment and was followed by a loud sigh from Junior.

"Christ kid, at least let us get through the door first!"

"You got my message!"

"This thing is not light for either of us and you're not helping, kid."

Roman put down his book at that. Thing…? Did he…? Roman stood from his recliner and walked into the hall to see Junior and Neo struggling to carry a somewhat large Christmas tree as Olive latched onto Neo and threatened to topple them all. He nearly laughed but instead he let out a low groan. "I feel betrayed now. You two are supposed to be _my_ friends."

"Well we are your friends, and frankly I've been trying to get you to decorate for years now, I'm not going to miss the opportunity," Junior managed a slight shrug before glaring down at Olive, "Seriously, kid, I'm beginning to lose my balance here, get off!"

"Olive, please, detach yourself from Neo until they've carried that in."

"Oh. Oopsie." Olive let go of Neo and scuttled out of the doorway, earning a short glare from the woman before she and Junior continued to haul the tree inside.

"Where do you want it?" Junior grunted.

"Not in my apartment."

"Roman."

"Fine…the living room."

"Alright." Junior and Neo turned for the living area and Roman heard a familiar giggle; he tilted his head to look past the tree and smirked at the sight of Ruby, despite the fact that she was carrying a large box of what was probably ornaments and the stand for the Christmas tree.

"Aren't you a little early?"

"It's nearly seven," Red smiled and stepped through the door, "I told everyone that I was checking to make sure Olive got here okay, so I have a little bit of time."

"And what exactly are you carrying?"

"Well, I kinda ran into Junior and Neo on the way over and they had a lot of stuff, so I offered to be their little helper."

"Are you saying you aren't responsible for the tree they're trying to set up in my living area?"

"Well I didn't tell Junior to bring it," Ruby smirked.

"Nope, I asked him to!" Olive interjected, stepping in between the two momentarily to grab the tree stand. "Swiped Roman's scroll to give him a call. Now I'll help set up the tree so you two lovebirds can get back to what you're doing…" Olive winked at her friend just as she left the room, causing a severe blush to sprout on her face.

"Olive!"

Roman laughed as Red's gaze shot back towards him and she began sputtering madly. "Well I'll give your friend credit on one account, she does know when to remove herself from the equation. But I thought we agreed that my home wasn't going to throw up Christmas like your dorm did." Roman gestured to the lights and various holiday themed wreaths hung on the doors in the hallway.

Ruby merely smiled and shook her head. "This isn't Christmas puke, this is actually quite nice. Elegant even. Fits in with your normal décor."

He squinted at that. "Christmas puke?"

"Well you did say 'throw up Christmas'."

"Well that phrasing made it sound ten times worse…"

"It means the same thing!"

"Christ, Red, you simply aren't good with words, are you?"

Ruby puffed out her cheeks childishly. "Shut up."

Roman chuckled at that and leaned towards her. "It's kinda cute, you know."

"You're teasing again."

"I can't help myself when you make it this easy."

She looked away at that. "Meanie."

"Aw come on," he smirked and pressed hand against Red's cheek and her gaze came back to him just as he leaned in to kiss her. She returned the affection, leaning her cheek into his palm as he held her there for a few more moments. They parted slowly, sharing small smiles before the sound of someone clearing their throat forced them to return to reality. Roman sighed and straightened himself before turning to Junior, who was leaning on the entrance to the living room. "Yes?"

"Need I say jail bait?" Junior asked as he crossed his arms.

"The definition of jail baiting does not include five second kisses, Junior."

"Are you certain about that?"

"Very."

"Well regardless, can you keep the public displays of affection to a minimum?"

"And since when was it your job to be my personal chaperone?"

"Since you decided to be an idiot and date a fifteen year old."

"You know, I've been waiting for you to get over that for months now," Roman sighed. "Fine. I won't kiss her in your presence, now can we get this decorating nightmare over with?"

"Sure, if you can try to have a little more Christmas cheer."

"I'm not cheerful for a good reason!" Roman insisted as he pushed past Junior. "You're my best friend and yet you're helping my girlfriend's friend put an obnoxiously large pine tree in my living room against my will! Did I mention the _obnoxiously large_ part?" Roman gestured to the tree one last time for emphasis.

"Isn't your favorite saying 'Go big of go home'?"

Roman groaned and stomped over to his recliner, slumping back into it and retrieving his book from the arm. "Fine. Do what you want, just don't break anything." Roman went back to reading his book as the group talked amongst themselves and continued setting up without him. He honestly didn't mind their enthusiasm about Christmas all that much, he just didn't like the prospect of cleaning up the mess in a few days' time. But he elected to say nothing more on the matter as Ruby and the others gleefully hung ornaments on the tree, only looking up from his book momentarily and snorting a bit at the sight of Olive lifting Neo onto her shoulders so the shorter women could put the star on the tree. But Roman didn't say a word and returned to his book; he had made it through several chapters before Ruby finally came up to him.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Murder mystery," Roman said shortly.

"Is it good?"

"It's not bad."

"Hm. Uh, we finished the tree, by the way."

Roman looked up nonchalantly and indeed found a fully decorated tree in the middle of his living area. "Lovely." He could nearly feel Red fidgeting nervously as he looked back down at his book.

"…Are you still angry?"

"About what?"

"About the decorating."

"Slightly irked, admittedly," Roman looked over at Ruby, "What time is it?"

"Almost half past eight."

He stared at her a moment before the information registered. "You have to go."

"Yeah…wouldn't want my friends to start looking for me…"

"Did I literally just spend your entire visit sulking?"

"Yup."

"Huh." He gazed at Red thoughtfully for a moment before reaching out and pulling her close to him by the waist. She squeaked a little in surprise as he pulled her onto his lap, blushing profusely from the contact. "I suppose I'll have to be quick then?"

"I-I have to go, Roman," Ruby managed.

"Can I have a goodbye kiss first?"

She blushed a little brighter at that, but nonetheless leaned in to place a slow kiss on his lips. They lingered for a moment before parting, and Roman brought both hands up to her cheeks as he placed another kiss on her forehead. "I have to go now," she murmured lightly.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Right after dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Ruby placed another peck on Roman's lips before standing and moving towards the door. "Oh, one last thing."

"Yes?"

"Merry Christmas."

He smiled at her a moment, pausing only a moment before responding.

"Merry Christmas, Red."


	2. Chapter 2

A Very Rosewick Christmas [part two]

Ruby was late. Granted, not terribly late but late enough to make her fidgety and anxious to the point of being completely unable to sit still. Taking public transit had been an unavoidable, impossibly huge mistake. This train moved slower than she did on a bad day, but due to her fancy state of dress and large bag of presents, she'd been left with no choice. As the train reached the stop closest to Roman's apartment, Ruby nearly sped through the opening car doors before remembering that Yang had once again forced her into heels and she was anything but steady on her feet in them. Stupid heels.

So she instead settled for a frantic speed walk down the busy streets of Vale, taking the most crowded route as per Roman's instructions. According to him she'd be harder to spot within a large group than she would if she ducked into a somewhat abandoned back alley. That and the removal of her hood until she was in his apartment building. That wasn't too much to ask of her (even if she did feel somewhat naked without her hood) and it certainly served her well to remove it, as she made it into the building without a single hiccup. Ruby crossed the expanse of the lobby as quickly as she could without having an accident related to her annoying fancy footwear.

As soon as she made it into the elevator she donned her hood once more. Ruby straightened out her garments carefully as she studied her reflection in the metallic elevator doors. Besides the admittedly cute black high heels Yang had forced her into, she had opted to wear a faux fur-lined version of her hood and a slightly shiny red dress with a little black corset sewn onto it. She blushed a little as she imagined Roman's reaction to this dress. Hopefully he wouldn't think it was too much. As the elevator doors opened to the top floor, Ruby wobbled unsteadily into the hallway and towards Roman's apartment, whimpering softly under her breath as she realized just how silly she must've looked.

She reached the front door and knocked hesitantly; her stomach was beginning to turn from how anxious she was and the feeling was far from pleasant. The door swung open to reveal Olive on the other side, and Ruby's heart sunk a little as she took note of her friend's very casual Christmas sweater. Olive herself didn't seem to register the drastic difference in their attire and instead let out and excited squeal.

"You look so pretty!"

"I'm overdressed…"

"Nonsense, you're gorgeous! Come in! Your boyfriend needs to see this!"

"I need to see what now?"

Ruby glanced past her friend as Roman's voice trailed out from the living room, leaving her distracted enough to be forcefully yanked through the doorway and nearly lose her balance.

"Have you eaten already?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh. Well we still have some ordervy things left if you want some."

"The proper term is hors d'oeuvres, Olive," Junior stated bluntly as they entered the living room.

"Ordervy things sounds cuter," she insisted.

"Honestly I think both wor—whoa!" Ruby wobbled a moment and nearly fell over before Junior caught her mid-fall and helped her right herself.

"You alright kid?"

"Stupid lady stilts…" Ruby managed weakly in response as she pouted. A somewhat indescribable sound followed the mumbled phrase and all eyes shot to Roman, who had been taking a gulp of his brandy and was now choking on it.

After a few moments of sputtering as he literally held back his laughter with one hand, he finally managed to form words. "Dear lord, Red! Are you trying to kill me?"

"No..."

"Well for the record, you nearly succeeded," he managed weakly as he held his hand over his eyes, his body still visibly shaken by his laughter.

"It wasn't that funny you know," Ruby's eyes narrowed at Roman as she handed her bag of gifts over to Olive and wobbled over to him.

"I'd argue the contrary."

"Meanie."

"Hey, I can't help what amuses me all that much," he stated firmly as he looked up at her, all signs of his laughter slowly dissipating as his eyes wandered across her attire. "Well someone certainly dressed for the occasion."

"Is it too much?"

"Define too much," Roman reached out for Ruby and pulled her onto his lap, causing her blush to intensify a little.

"Is it too fancy?"

"I wouldn't say so," he smiled and brought his fingers up underneath her chin. "I'd say you look rather beautiful actually." Ruby felt her cheeks grow impossibly hotter as he pulled her in for a kiss, one that was rather short but deep enough to satisfy her current craving.

"Ahem."

Roman pulled away abruptly and looked over at Junior with an irritated look plastered across his visage. "She's my girlfriend, Junior, I'm going to kiss her."

Junior simply let out what was probably some light agitated groan but turned away to see if the presents under the tree were ready to be doled out yet. Roman smirked as he did and turned back to Ruby.

"Would you like me to help you with your lady stilts?" his smirk transformed into an impish grin as she began to scowl.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Probably not. If anything I think that's my new favorite term for heels."

"Meanie."

Roman chuckled and pecked Ruby on the lips before moving a hand down to her shoes and starting to untie the ribbon around her ankle. Ruby started kicking her feet lightly in retaliation.

"Stop it! I can take off my shoes on my own!"

"I don't mind doing it for you."

"I can do it on my own!"

"Oh come on, Red, don't be a baby, I'm closer to your feet than you are, I'll get it done faster. So if you'll just stop kicking…"

"No, I'll do it myself!" Ruby tried to reach for her feet and was pushed away by Roman, who was still trying to unlace the first heel. The two quickly reverted to childish wrestling as she tried to reach her foot and he continued to push her away. After a few minutes of ridiculous flailing, their play fight ceased and Roman put his hands up in defeat.

"You know what, Red? Fine, do it yourself."

"Thank you." Ruby reached down for her heels and Roman wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss into her neck.

"You are far too cute sometimes."

"I'm not cute, I'm angry!" she refuted.

"Of course you are, Red." Roman placed another kiss on her neck and she turned away from him just enough to make eye contact with Olive and Neo, who were cuddling on the couch as they watched the two intently.

"Uh, Roman, m-maybe I should find my own seat," Ruby squeaked as the heat returned to her cheeks.

"Oh don't stop on our account," Olive spoke up with a smirk, and nuzzled her head a little further into the crook of Neo's neck. The smaller woman pulled out her scroll and typed up a message that she then showed to Olive, who smiled a little wider at its content. "Yes, yes they are. Very adorable children."

"Now I'm offended," Roman spoke up as he leaned over Ruby's shoulder. "I am a fully grown adult, thank you."

Neo typed up another message and presented it to Roman.

_Roman my dear, if you were to look up 'child' in any dictionary, you would be the accompanying picture._

Ruby snorted and Roman let out a low groan. "Honestly Neo, I'm not nearly as childish as the person sitting on me."

"Hey!"

_Okay, I'll give you that one._

"Heeeeeeyy!"

"I know you all are enjoying your little couple time over there but can we get to the gift exchange now?"

All eyes were suddenly on Junior, who was leaning on the wall by the tree with his arms crossed, looking somewhat uncomfortable and disappointed for being all by his lonesome.

"I suppose we could open a few Christmas presents, since that is what we're all supposed to be here for," Roman shrugged nonchalantly.

"I call first dibs!" Olive announced loudly before scrambling away from Neo and diving for the gift pile. "Alrighty, so…" Olive dug through the pile and pulled out a package that Ruby immediately recognized as her own gift to her friend. "From Ruby, to…me! Thanks Ruby!" Olive beamed like a child before tearing away the wrapping paper and opening the box. She squealed with delight and held up a somewhat hideous Christmas themed sweater before holding the rather enormous thing up to her body. "It's perfect!"

"Perfectly distasteful," Roman remarked dryly, earning himself a flick in the forehead from Ruby.

"Kinda heavy…wait, is that?" Olive dug her hand down into the sweater abruptly; a small click was heard and small lights began twinkling across the surface of the garment, causing Olive's already huge grin to widen even more with pure delight.

"Oh dear god," Junior commented with an edge of concern in his voice.

"There's one more thing in the box, Olive," Ruby spoke up with a smile, and her friend's head whipped back to the abandoned package and she moved to rummage through it. She straightened back up and held a book out in front of her, squinting a little at its title.

"'How to Woo Your Lady in 50 Easy Steps'…I will make this book my new religion," Olive stated firmly, causing Neo to slap herself in the forehead.

"Well if Olive is converting to the romance religion I suppose we won't be decorating for Christmas next year," Roman mused.

"Ruby, please smack him upside the head for that," Junior addressed the young girl on his lap with a note of exasperation and she complied with his request promptly.

"You know I really don't like it when you guys gang up on me," Roman whined a little before repositioning Ruby on his lap and hugging her tight enough so that she wouldn't be able to reach his head again.

"Your fault for being a sore baby," Ruby remarked as Roman blew out a short sigh and leaned his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm not a baby."

"Did I get anything from Neo?" Olive looked over at the woman and Neo sighed before pulling an envelope from her suit and holding it out to the girl. Olive rose to her feet and moved for Neo before her gaze fell back to her new Christmas sweater. She paused a moment to stare at it before pulling off her old sweater and throwing on the new one, giving herself a nod of approval and proceeding to shuffle over to Neo.

Olive plucked the envelope from her hands and sat down, reclaiming her previous cuddling position in a matter of moments as she opened up the envelope. "Let's see…movie tickets, dinner reservations…ooo a letter," Olive moved again so that her head was on Neo's lap as she opened up the letter and began reading it. As she scanned the page, her cheeks flushed darker and darker, and by the end of the letter she'd begun quietly squealing into Neo's stomach. Neo responded by apathetically patting the girl on the head before typing up a message on her scroll.

_Junior's turn next, I have an attachment._

"Okay…" Junior sighed and knelt down in front of the tree, grabbing a number of similarly shaped presents. "From Neo…Merlot again?" Junior held out the unwrapped wine bottle and looked it over with a somewhat unreadable expression as Neo nodded at him. He sighed and muttered a short "thank you" before retrieving the next present from the pile.

"So what kind did you get me this year, Roman?"

"You'll have to open it to find out," Roman replied with a smirk.

Junior chuckled a little and ripped open the paper, holding out yet another wine bottle as he read the label. "Cabernet Saugvignon…huh, well-aged…well known wine maker…you've outdone yourself this year, Roman."

"You know I always find you the good stuff."

"True. Now for the only vaguely bottle like present that worries me…from Olive…?" Junior shot a cautious glance at the young girl latched to Neo's midsection before shrugging and proceeding to open the present, muttering a little about how irritated he would be if he'd gotten sparkling cider. Instead the bottle that greeted him made his eyes widen with surprise—it seemed that the beverage in his hands was quite unexpected. "How in the world—this is a world _renowned _company—and an _Amontillado_ at that—you aren't even at the drinking age! How did you find this?"

"My daddy owns Gardner's Wines and Spirits," Olive replied simply as she poked her head out from her curled up position in Neo's lap.

"Your daddy—your father _owns _a multi-million dollar wine company? Please tell me you're joking."

"She isn't," Ruby cut in.

"My daddy's rich," Olive stated blankly.

"Never thought I'd see the day that I'd be outdone by a fifteen year old," Roman remarked.

"Um…" Ruby looked up at Roman quizzically, and he let out a dramatic sigh.

"Alright that is not the same, Red, you don't count."

"I definitely count," she insisted.

"Hush, allow the pretense Red," Roman pressed a finger to the girl's lips and she giggled.

"Look who's the sore loser now?" Ruby smiled as Roman pouted and pecked her on the forehead.

"Ahem."

Ruby look over at Junior, who was now holding her present and waiting for her and Roman. "Oh, sorry…" Ruby chuckled lightly and Junior grunted before opening his present.

"I'm honestly not much of a reader," he stated frankly as he turned the now unwrapped book over in his hands.

"I think you'll like that one," Ruby noted as he held it up to read the title.

"'152 Ways to Defend Yourself Against Sass'…where has this been all my life?"

"I _thought _that I'd burned all of those years ago," Roman remarked with a smirk.

"So it _was_ you."

"Guilty as charged."

"Thanks Ruby, I'm definitely going to make use of this." Junior smiled and began flipping through the book as Roman let out a small whine and Ruby giggled as he nuzzled her face into her neck.

"Now I have nothing to use against him."

"I'm sure you'll find a loophole somehow," Ruby replied as he pressed a kiss onto the back of her neck.

"Okay, my turn to open presents, up you go Red," Roman patted her on the arm and Ruby stood from his lap and frowned.

"Whatever happened to ladies first?"

"I don't see any ladies in here," Roman remarked with a smirk as he walked up to the tree to locate his presents, winning himself a glare from Neo, an arm flail from Olive, and an offended wail from Ruby.

"Oy," a muffled mumble came from Olive as she continued to nuzzle her face into Neo's stomach.

"Romaaaaaaaan!" Ruby nuzzled the crown of her head into his back and he chuckled while he collected his presents.

"Calm down, Red, you'll get your turn."

"That probably isn't what offended every woman in the room Roman," Junior noted as he glanced up from his book.

"True," Roman returned to his seat with his presents and Ruby whined a bit before flopping down in front of his chair, "but you should all know that I avoid the details when it's convenient to me."

"Yeah yeah," Junior waved off the comment and returned to his book.

"So…let's start with the biggest…"

Ruby watched intently as Roman singled out a large rectangular box wrapped in shiny paper that she recognized as Olive's. Roman eyed the box suspiciously before carefully unwrapping it, his fingers working at the taped edges with delicacy in an attempt to keep the paper intact. The removal of the shimmering Christmas wrap unveiled a shoebox, which Roman perked an eyebrow at and studied, hesitating to open the box for a few moments. After a little more stalling, he lifted the lid, peeking inside a mere moment before slapping the box shut and swearing under his breath. Ruby's brow knit together as Roman's cheeks suddenly went uncharacteristically pink, his eyes wandering the room frantically to avoid looking at the present in his lap. After a moment he finally spoke up in a short, barely audible rasp.

"Oh my _god_, Olive."

oooOOOooo

Roman had to hand it to Ruby. Despite initially thinking that this exchange would be far more chaotic and troublesome than previous years, instead he'd found himself pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the evening had been. With the exception of Olive's gift. That had been unexpected, inappropriate and uncalled for. That gift had been given to Junior. And would probably be burned. But the rest of the evening had not so much as a single hiccup as every gift after that one had been much appreciated, and by the end of the night everyone was getting ready to leave as Olive continued to complain about how everyone had scolded her.

"I was just try to hel—ow!" Olive whined as Neo flicked her in the forehead for the twentieth time and forced the taller girl into her coat before pushing her towards the door. Neo typed up a note on her scroll and held it out to Roman.

_I'll be taking her to my place this evening._

"Fine by me, Neo," Roman replied lightly before Neo nodded at him and typed up another message.

_Merry Christmas Roman._

He smiled and leaned down to peck Neo on the cheek. "Merry Christmas Neo."

_Try not to be a Scrooge after we leave, okay?_

"Whatever."

"Oy, I didn't put that tree up for nothing, try to be more cheerful," Junior walked up to Roman as he threw is overcoat on, frowning slightly as his friend's smirk widened.

"I did the gift exchange, I got my house decorated, I've been nothing but a picture of Christmas cheer all night."

"That's a laugh."

"At least give me credit for pretending, alright?"

"Fine. Come here." Junior held his arms out and Roman reluctantly accepted his friend's bear hug, coughing a bit as one large hand slapped him in the back twice before he was released. "Merry Christmas, junior," the taller man smiled and ruffled Roman's hair, winning an annoyed whine as the shorter struggled against his hand.

"I am _far _too old for head pats, Junior, and also far too old for that nickname," Roman pushed Junior's hand away from his head and crossed his arms, lips pursed and eyes glaring at his friend with mock disdain. "Merry Christmas," he murmured to the ground.

Junior let out a small chuckle and patted Roman on the arm before following Neo and Olive out the front door. Roman smirked and followed him with his eyes until he heard a small awkward cough in sprout up next to him. He turn to look at Ruby, who was smiling sheepishly and swinging her arms, probably in attempt to ward off her ever apparent anxiousness.

"So…I suppose I'll see you tonight?"

"When did I say you were allowed to leave?"

"I have to go back to my dorm tonight Roman."

"Not until I've given you my present."

Ruby's brow knit together and turned down to her bag of opened presents. "I thought you did…?"

Roman glanced at the Beowolf plushie at the top of the bag thoughtfully, shrugging a little and making a small nod, as she was not entirely wrong. "Not all of it. I saved a bit of it for later. And by later I mean now."

"Okay…?" Ruby tilted her head before he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips while one hand held her jawline lightly.

"Follow me," Roman murmured as he pulled away, smirking a little at Red's somewhat flushed face.

"Mkay," Ruby nodded as Roman straightened himself and started down the hallway, followed by an ever unsteady heel-clad Ruby.

"I think you need a little more practice walking in lady stilts, Red," Roman commented as he reached the end of the hall and opened the door up to the apartment building roof.

"Shut up," she mumbled, "Where are we going?"

"Well we aren't going anywhere until you put on a proper coat," Roman replied as he nodded to Ruby's cloak, which happened to be her only form of covering.

"This is enough," Ruby insisted.

"It's not, I know how cold it is outside," he frowned and leaned over to retrieve the crimson overcoat he'd given her during the gift exchange from her bag. "Put it on."

She crossed her arms in defiance. "I don't wanna."

"You've forced my hand Red…" Roman sighed and pulled her towards him, unclipping her cloak as she began squirming and struggling against the coat.

"No no no no no no I don't need it Roman!" Ruby tried to get away in vain as he managed to get one arm into the first sleeve.

"Yes you do," he responded bluntly as he got her other arm into the second sleeve and turned her around so he could button the coat. "You can be such a baby sometimes…oh god Ruby, don't make that face at me, you'll distract me with how adorable you are." He chuckled as she pouted ever so childishly while staring up at him with halfhearted Bambi eyes.

"Meanie," she mumbled.

"Watching out for your health can hardly be called 'mean', Red," Roman finished buttoning the coat before re-clipping her cloak for her and grabbing his own winter coat. "Honestly, how did you even think that was okay?"

"I do what I want," Ruby mumbled and crossed her arms again.

"No you don't."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too!"

"Seriously Red…" Roman shook his head as he wrapped his winter scarf around his neck and put on his hat. "What am I going to do with you…?"

Ruby shot a glare at him but in a split her expression softened to one of confusion. "Where's your normal coat?"

Roman glanced down at his black pea coat momentarily before smirking up at her. "Some of us don't want to catch pneumonia."

Her eyes immediately narrowed at the comment. "My cloak is warm enough…"

"I thought we'd already covered this…now then," Roman leaned down and lifted Ruby up bridal style, causing her to kick her feet in retaliation.

"I can walk on my own!"

"This is true, however you are far too slow in your lady stilts."

"Romaaaan!"

He laughed and started up the staircase, Ruby whining a little as she threw her arms over his shoulders to hold herself steady. He scaled the staircase swiftly and opened the door to the roof, letting Ruby down to her feet; she nudged Roman to demonstrate her defiance before looking around the rooftop quizzically.

"So what are we up here for?"

He smirked at her and nodded to the side of the stairwell, where a small, slightly nondescript brick building sat awkwardly in the corner of the roof. Ruby tilted her head and began walking cautiously towards it, turning to give Roman a questioning glance before continuing along the short expanse. He smiled and followed suit, his eyes fixated on her in an effort to commit her every expression in this moment to memory. "Are you curious?" he asked nonchalantly, making some small attempt at small talk to break Ruby's silence.

"You mean am I wondering why we're here to visit a strange tiny building on your roof? Yes, actually, I'm really really curious. What in the word are you hiding in here?" Ruby studied the somewhat squat door with hesitation, her fingers tracing around the brass doorknob before gripping the handle and opening it slowly. Roman smiled a little wider as he watched Ruby's jaw drop as if had snapped at the hinges.

It seemed that his surprise had been just as unexpected as he'd anticipated.

oooOOOooo

Ruby nearly couldn't believe her eyes. Nearly. Despite the fact that Roman had demonstrated an utter lack of Christmas spirit all month she wouldn't put it past him to do something this…drastic. And judging by the cheeky grin on his face he had every intention of catching her off-guard. Well he'd succeeded; Ruby was speechless as she looked around the small room. Tapestries and curtains were slung across the walls, the fabric fell to the floor until a few patterned rugs broke their fall, hiding the floor beneath them effectively. And there was a _fireplace_—a legitimate one built into the wall, with a living room chair and several very large, comfy looking pillows resting in front of it. Two floor lamps sat in the far corners, low light spilling across the room as the faint scent of peppermint drifted into her nose.

"You…made all of this…?" she asked slowly, stepping further into the little room and followed closely by Roman.

"Well, to be fair, I didn't make the walls or fireplace, I paid a professional to do that," Roman smirked and knelt down to start the unlit logs in the pit. "I did, however, do all of the interior design. I figured you'd like a story time corner that looked like it was a bit…much."

Ruby let out a small laugh. "So this is what that is?"

"Well you have mentioned your undying love of fantasy," Roman remarked as he lit the kindling for the fire and replaced the protective screen. "So I figured I'd give you a little story spot just for you." He stood and walked back to her, his smile still wide and speaking volumes about how pleased he was with himself. "There is one more bit. Come here." Roman brought a hand to Ruby's waist and led her to the pile of pillows, where he sat her down in front of him as he reached for something hidden behind it.

Ruby's brow furrowed a bit as he pulled a rather large rectangular present out from behind the cushions and held it out to her. She took it from him hesitantly, pausing a moment to study the shiny gold wrapping paper before ripping it away to reveal a thick, leather-bound book of what was, according to the spine, a huge collection of fairy tales. "Where did you find this?" Ruby looked the volume over in astonishment, admiring the intricate engravings on the cover with genuine disbelief.

"I found it at a little independent bookstore. The clerk said this was their best fairy tail collection," Roman pulled Ruby closer to him and rested his head on her shoulder, "Check the inside."

Ruby glanced at him a moment before complying and opening the book only to notice a bookmark hidden in the middle of the book. She flipped to the page and found that the bookmark was, in fact, a receipt for the volume itself, placed neatly at the beginning of her favorite story, _Little Red Riding Hood_. "And you actually bought it," Ruby smiled, "With whose money?"

Roman put on a slight offended scowl. "Mine."

"Which you got how…?"

He shrugged at that. "Details."

She sighed a little at that. "Roman."

"Hey I bought the book, don't I get points for that?"

"Yes you do." Ruby laughed lightly kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you." She paused a moment before suddenly frowning and hiding her head in her hands. "Oh god…"

"What?"

"You did all this and all I got you is a pack of cards and candy cigars…"

There was a moment of silence before Roman broke into a loud fit of laughter. "Christ Red…honestly."

"I should've gotten you more!"

"You're fine Red, seriously, you got me a really good present."

"No I didn't…"

"You did though."

"What about my gift was good?" Ruby made eye contact with Roman, and he smiled lightly as he turned her towards him and pressed his forehead again hers.

"You're here," he murmured. "Trust me, I appreciate that a lot." Roman brought his hands up to Ruby's cheeks and pressed a soft kiss against her lips, pulling her closer to him as she hugged her new book to her chest. She returned the affection promptly, her arms loosening around the leather-bound volume while his hands trailed down to hold her waist. They broke away slightly, Ruby pouting a little as Roman smiled and straightened out her bangs.

"Besides," he continued, "I've a habit of going overboard, yours was just right."

"You sure?" Ruby asked lightly.

"Positive. Now, why don't you read me the fairy tale I picked out to me?"

She squinted at that. "I thought you didn't like fairy tales."

"I don't, but considering that you love them and it is Christmas, I'll survive."

Ruby smiled and repositioned herself so that her back was leaning on Roman's chest before reopening the volume and turning to the first page of her favorite tale. She hadn't expected any of this, but it was perfect nonetheless. The comfort of the cushions and the warmth of the fireplace, the faint scent of peppermint, everything. And the feeling of Roman's arms holding her made it even better. Every fiber of her being wished that this moment in time could last forever. With a small clearing of her throat, Ruby began to read the story, slowly and clearly like the night sky outside.

"Once upon a time…"


End file.
